XENON: Tasting Freedom
by annamon
Summary: Over a decade ago, a young girl went missing after playing with her friend Claudine. Sadly there was no trace of where she was to be found and all hope was lost. Years later, Claudine, now part of the Resistance. A team that swore to defeat the Black Wings and Mage is captured by the Mad Scientist Gelimer..But test tubes and evil robots aren't the only thing she discovers inside..
1. Prologue

_**PROLOGUE**_

"Peace in Edelstein!" Belle shouted to the top of her lungs.

"We will protect Edelstein because we are heroes!" Elex announced as his voice rose with every word.

"I want to be the Black Wings!" I joined in on our game of Mesorangers. They all stared at me, giving me every single kind of disagreement they could.

"You can't be a bad guy Yui, we're all Mesorangers and we're supposed to hate and beat the bad guys!" Is what Brighton told me, pointing his small finger in my face.

I gave him a good pout but gave up eventually and decided to be one of the Mesorangers'. After awhile of running around and stabbing lifeless stumps (because to us they're the Black Wings!). When the sun began to set and our water bottles were all empty, we decided to call it a day.

"We can continue this battle for justice later." Claudine yawned, stretching her arms. I nodded in agreement and jumped off the bench I was standing on, claiming justice.

"I still have to pick up an order from the bakery, so I'll go on ahead." I told them.

Claudine, Belle, Elex, Brighten and I all exchanged our goodbyes for the day and I headed off in the opposite direction. They were all neighbors while I lived in the other side of town, but since my side is filled with so much seniors, I always go to the other side where the park is and that's basically how I met the four of them.

On my way to pick up the bread my mom ordered, a chill flew up and down my spine and it caused me to shiver. I brushed it off though since I always got this kind of feeling when I was alone on this creepy sidewalk. I constantly feel like I'm being watched, and not by my reflection in the puddles. Halfway there, I reached into the back pocket of my jeans and took out the loose mesos that sat inside.

I accidentally dropped all of the coins and grumbled in frustration as I bent down and looked everywhere for the mesos that I dropped. I looked at the palm of my hand that held onto all the money I found so far and frowned. "This isn't enough for the sweet bread that mom wanted. That means I'm still missing some coins!" I continued to look around the street until I only had to find one more coin left. Suddenly, I saw something shining from not too far from where I was. "That must be the missing coin!" I exclaimed and ran over. It was the meso and I happily bent down to pick it up. Unfortunately, I was so overjoyed that I didn't realize that the coin I picked up was merely inches from a man that I had never seen before.

I stared at the man intently, but he only continued to smirk. "Hello?" I said, using a confused tone. "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers but if you have have a reason for standing in my way... Please tell me."

"_She's perfect_," The man whispered under his breath, but it was loud enough for me to hear.

"E-Excuse me?" I stuttered but I soon found myself unable to say anything else as rusty metal hands clutched over my mouth. My heart began to pound and I tried to scream but nobody was around to hear my muffled screams. I was able to turn my head slightly only to see two robots that hovered in the air, grabbing me out of force.

"Now, now. The more you restrain the more it's going to hurt." The man smirked and walked up to me, holding a device up to my face. Tears welled in my eyes from fear and confusion. The last thing I could hear was the sound of the coins falling out of my hands and the last thing I could see was a giant flash of light coming out of the strange device, and everything went black.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**Since this is just the prologue, it was really short. When I post the actual chapters, I'll try to make them all long as I can. :)**


	2. The Infiltration

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters unless stated otherwise. All copyrights go to Nexon/Respected owners. Thank you :)_

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**CHAPTER 1: THE INFILTRATION**

_Over a decade later . . ._

Fighting, being tested on, being the most powerful, being strong enough to eliminate all those who stood in Gelimer's way..

That is what my life is. My memories, my body, my life... I had no control over any of those things anymore; they were no longer mine. Everything has always been a blank, although I was told as long as I can remember that I was born to serve alongside Gelimer my whole life and that is all.

"My pride and joy... Xenon." The recognizable voice of Scientist Gelimer said. I could hear the sound of my indestructible tube opening and light shining through. "All my final adjustments have been made so you can open your eyes now."

Following orders, I opened them slowly and a new feeling flowed through. I felt even stronger and the inner cyborg of me was about to take more than half of me over. Beryl, another human test subject and Roo-D (Gelimer's highly intelligent robot dog) stood beside Gelimer.

"Beryl take Xenon to Test Room 3 and activate the Von Leon clone." Gelimer ordered and turned around. "I'll be watching from the view room."

Beryl and I exchanged blank stares before she led me up the stairs and down one of the many hallways and eventually leaving me to enter Test Room 3 while she joined Gelimer at the view room. I walked inside, letting the door shut itself and stood until the Von Leon clone appeared.

"Now Xenon, let's see how powerful you've become!" Gelimer shouted, his voice clear from the speakers hanging on each corner of the wall.

"Affirmative." I answered, activating the Energy sword. "Target confirmed, searching weak point." I locked my view on the Von Leon clone's weak point and gave myself an energy boost before jumping up high enough just to reach it perfectly. I shouted a loud battle cry and stabbed him on the exact location of his weak point.

The Von Leon clone shouted in pain once more and I leaped into the air moments before he came crashing onto the ground and disappearing. I slashed my sword to the side and deactivated it. "Mission complete. Enemy has been destroyed."

Gelimer, Beryl and Roo-D entered the room with Gelimer clapping his hands. "My high intellect has done it again." He gloated before walking up to me and giving me an inspection of my attire. "You don't even have a scratch Xenon how remarkab-"

Gelimer was suddenly cut off by the loud security system beeping. We all formed into fight mode after noticing his sudden mood change and waited for Gelimer's orders.

"Ah, is that the Orca's again.. Good grief." Gelimer sighed and pressed a button on his remote that activated the security screen monitor. He frowned. "The Resistance, huh? Well, it's better than Orca but it's rather annoying at the moment." His face suddenly rose and he grinned. "Actually scratch that, this is a good final test for you Xenon. Now go attack them and I may be nice enough to reward you with something."

"Affirmative." I said as I closed my eyes and began to pin point their location. My eyes shot open and I activated a teleportation spell. "Target's location found: South Wing."

"Excellent work Xenon, I will begin a chamber lockdown to catch the targets after you've weakend; maybe even killed the targets." Gelimer sneered before I teleported myself just behind their location so I could sneak up on them unexpectedly.

I heard footsteps, slowly drawing in closer to the tank I was kneeling behind.

_"Man this place is huge.." _One target sighed.

"Well what'd you expect from a Black Wings location?" Replied another target. "We sneaked in here after hearing the report about a hidden lab. I bet some big shot is running this dump."_ Dump? What strange use of words._

"The stronger the defense, the more curious we happen to get, right? I'll definitely find out who and what is hiding here." A third target joined in. I connected my eye sight to the security cameras in that area and locked my point on the three trespassers. Points appeared on the side, revealing their names.

Target one: Claudine. Female. Instructor and member of the Resistance. Target two: Brighton. Male. Battle Mage and member of the Resistance. Lastly there stood Target three: Belle. Female. Wild Hunter Instructor and member of the Resistance.

"Belle how can you stay so calm at a time like this?" Claudine asked but she gasped loudly after her eyes caught onto the chamber lockdown that was about to capture Brighton. "Watch out!" She warned, pushing Brighton out of the way and in the process getting herself captured instead.

"Claudine!" Belle gasped, running over to her side. "Who did this?"

I guess that's my cue, I thought. I stood up from my hiding spot and walked over to their side, pointing my arm towards them that was attached to a powerful blast shooter.

"Belle, step off someone's coming!" Brighton snapped and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back.

"Target's found. Attack the target as ordered." I said and dodged their attacked aimed at me. As I fired attacks here and there, I noticed they were standing in front of a captured Claudine and therefore protecting her. I quickly teleported to the other side and recharged my shooter and blasted it at Claudine.

"No, watch out!" Belle and Brighton shrieked in unison. Claudine yelled in surprise, backing away as quickly as she could. I managed to only hit her ankle, but she ended up dropping something out of her reach in the process.

"The dagger! Someone get the dagger, hurry please!" Claudine begged, her eyes filled with sadness and sorrow.

I was ready to fire another shot at them but after staring at the dagger for a few seconds my head began to hurt. "Agh!" I gasped in pain and dropped down on my knees as I clutched my head tightly. A blurred vision appeared in my head, but before I could try to see it clearer everything went blank again. "What was that? I just visioned something I've never seen before," I said to myself and placed my hand over my heart. "W-why does my heart hurt? Is this a malfunction..?"

Claudine stared at me deeply whilst the other two looked at me with great confusion. I was frozen in place, unable to attack. Luckily, Beryl and Gelimer appeared on the other side.

"Xenon what are you doing just standing there? Destroy them all!" Gelimer ordered impatiently but I continued to stay down as for some reason I was unable to move.

"Belle, we need to get out of here!" Brighton said, tugging at her wrist.

"But what about Claudine?" Belle questioned.

"Don't worry about me!" Claudine interrupted. "Come back with reinforcements. Just trust me, I'll be fine."

"Well... Okay then." Belle gave in reluctantly.

"No, don't let them get away!" Gelimer shouted but it was too late. One of them casted a mist spell and disappeared out of sight without being seen and leaving an injured Claudine. Claudine stared at us in silence, well, me in particular.

"Xenon, take that good-for-nothing resistance member to her jail cell. Beryl, you come with me. We're not letting them escape so easily." Gelimer ordered before leaving in the opposite direction with Beryl.

I stared at Claudine who only continued to glare at me. I was down because I failed Gelimer and for once I have never felt so weak in battle. I stared at the dagger and I winced as I picked it up. But I managed to stand back up and teleported Claudine into her jail cell. Once she was gone, I walked back to the laboratory and sighed loudly.

I walked towards Roo-D who seemed to be taking a nap inside and tapped him lightly enough to wake him up. "Roo-D?"

Roo-D opened his robotic eyes. "Xenon?" Roo-D replied with a confused tone. "Why are you shaking?"

I went down on my knees and showed him the dagger that Claudine dropped. "My mind has been hurting and I can't seem to have full control of myself. It's all because of this dagger the prisoner, Claudine, owns." I confessed, staring at my shaking hands that held onto her dagger. "I've never talked or seen her in my life, so why should one of her possessions hurt me so much?"

Roo-D stared at me for a moment before going on his scrawny feet. "Your memories." He said quietly.

"My memories?" I repeated and my head began to hurt a little bit more.

"I think there's a connection between Claudine and you. Maybe she's connected to your lost memories," Roo-D explained.

My eyes widened and I quickly stood up. "Then I have to go see her. Can you come with me? And promise not to tell Gelimer."

Roo-D nodded and wagged his robotic tail. "Of course, and I'll make sure to keep a look out for Gelimer. Something as important as this cannot be missed out."

I nodded and tightened my grip on the dagger. "My memories..." I whispered to myself before heading out the door.

Claudine.. Who are you? Do you have something to do with my past, my memories, or are you just another prisoner I was given orders to attack? But really... _Who am I?_

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**At least Roo-D treats Xenon as a person instead of a cyborg. Aha. But please Follow/Favorite and comment! **


	3. The Escape

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters unless stated otherwise. All copyrights go to Nexon/Respected owners. Thank you :)_

**CHAPTER 2: THE ESCAPE**

I, along with Roo-D, teleported to prison hall where Claudine was being held. The entire place was silent and because of my enhanced hearing I was able to hear her slow, steady breathing.

"I'll stay near the door and I'll make sure to tell you if Beryl or Gelimer come." Roo-D said and I nodded, happy at his loyalty. "Oh but you should take this." The robotic dog handed me Claudine's dagger.

I took the dagger out of Roo-D's grasp and walked towards Claudine and watched as her intense reaction to see me arrive in front of her. She stood up from her jail bed and grabbed a hold of the jail bars, clenching them tightly.

"What do you want?" She hissed angrily.

I took out her dagger and reached in between the jail bars, handing it to her. She stared at me in silence, confused by my actions. "I-I don't know who you are or what kind of story lies in this dagger.. But for some reason I cannot function properly whenever I see it and since it's yours.. Take it." I winced, my head beginning to hurt the more I stood in the same room with Claudine and the dagger.

She looked hesitant at first but soon took the dagger into her hands and placed it away. I felt like giving up and not talk to her, but the less I knew about myself the more pain would be brought onto me whenever I saw a piece of my past.

"Thanks, but this dagger isn't mine." Claudine finally spoke. I looked back at her and found her staring straight at me with a deep look in her eye. "It's a dagger from a friend.. A friend that went missing many years ago."

My knees went weak and I fell onto the ground as I clutched onto my head and blurred images began to flow inside. "I can't take it anymore!" I hissed. I threw my arm in the direction of where the security cameras stood and blasted a burst of energy towards it, destroying it completely. I grabbed tightly onto the two metal bars and Claudine stepped back in surprise by my sudden movement. Barely using even half of my power, I bent the metal bars until they were wide enough for Claudine to step through.

"W-What are you doing?" Claudine asked in confusion. "We're enemies why are you-"

"Right now we are not enemies or allies." I answered, the tone of my voice serious. "I don't know who you are but I have a feeling that you're connected to my lost memories and that's something I need more than anything."

"Are you saying that you're going to let me escape?" Claudine asked in surprise.

I nodded and clenched my fists. "Yes, but I'm escaping with you." I said firmly and looked towards Roo-D.

"I'm coming along too! I know all the locations and I have the ability to sense Beryl and Gelimer's presences so with me you'll be able to escape safe and sound." Roo-D said.

"Alright. Now stand tight, I'm going to teleport us as close to the exit as I can. I was programmed so I couldn't teleport anywhere other than inside here." I explained and activated the teleportation skill. "Teleport to sector 1-2-2."

In an instant, the three of us disappeared from the prison hall and appeared in a wide, but empty hallway.

"I-It's clear.." Claudine said in relief but I quickly threw myself in front of her while Roo-D guarded from the other side.

"No, there's drones and security robots hiding." I corrected and before any of us could say anything else over a dozen small to medium sized robots appeared out of nowhere and began to throw themselves at us. "Stay back!" I shouted and leaped into the air, slicing my sword right through each and every one of them and destroying them all completely.

"A-Amazing.." Claudine said in awe. I stood straight and placed my sword back and continued to lead them towards the exit.

We walked into another hallway and I suddenly gasped as I noticed a bright beam of light shooting straight at us.

"Look out!" I exclaimed and Roo-D threw himself on top of Claudine, causing them to drop onto the ground. The attack was powerful enough to cause huge amounts of damage around us but because I was able to notice the attack before it hit, I was able to block it with one of my shields.

I could hear steady footsteps walking towards us and as the smoke slowly cleared out, Beryl appeared with a dead serious look on her face.

"You're going to betray Gelimer?" Beryl asked, walking towards us with her metal scythe tightly in her hand.

"Its not that..." I protested. "I only want my memories back."

"Then you have chosen to be a traitor and like all traitors, must be eliminated. "Beryl stated and in a swift motion, jumped into the air, swinging her scythe and reaching in to slice us.

I stood up quickly and countered her attack, blocking every single one of her moves while Claudine and Roo-D ran to the side. Beryl's eyes turned bright red as her attacks began to turn more ferocious but I managed to jump off of her and power myself up before reaching in to attack once more. I released a large static whip across to her and grabbed a hold of her weapon and I held myself in place. The electricity zapped her continuously as she continued to hold onto her weapon.

"Do you still want to continue this fight?" I asked, as I still had the upper hand.

Claudine sighed and dropped her scythe. I drew my whip back, but I knew she wasn't going to give up so easily. Once she dropped her weapon she quickly drew her hand towards me and a giant beam began to form within the palm of her hand.

I managed to jump away, missing the beam and whilst in the air I noticed Roo-D falling back. Unfortunately for me, Beryl noticed my care for Roo-D and pointed her hand towards the robotic dog instead. "Switching target." She said. I ran back to Roo-D and grabbed a hold of him tightly, jumping off of the next beam that struck. Her beam hit my arm and I winced in pain as I placed Roo-D back down.

"Are you okay Xenon?" Roo-D asked, looking at me sadly. Roo-D pressed some buttons on my wrist and activated a special boost, allowing me to stand back up and fight Beryl who continued to throw more attacks at me.

My speed and agility increased and I was able to miss her attack. I re equipped to another weapon and I swung it towards her as it grabbed a hold of her scythe and I slammed her against one of the tubes. I released a powerful explosion from my weapon, resulting in a bright explosion all around us.

By the time everything was visible Claudine, Roo-D and I were standing in front of Beryl who lied on the ground, looking defeated. I stood up straight, relieved that the battle was over. Suddenly I felt a strong zap and I could feel my control circuit changing.

"M-My control circuit..!" I winced in pain. "Wait.. Gelimer?" I looked up and found Gelimer standing above us with an advanced remote in his hands.

He laughed cynically at us. "It seems those silly memories of yours are causing you some confusion.. I guess I have to delete more this time!" He snickered and I gasped in shock as a huge zap of electricity flowed right through me.

"Snap out of it!" Roo-D begged. "You said you were going to get your memories back!"

My eyes widened and I brought one leg back on foot. "My... memories.." I said, using my sword to bring myself back on my feet. I was in pain and I could feel Gelimer's power trying to force me back onto the ground. I could tell he was trying to erase all the memories I've obtained so far but somehow I managed to fight back. I began to walk away slowly with Claudine and Roo-D, since I was unable to run with these conditions.

"W-What!? Impossible! How are you still moving!?" Gelimer yelled angrily and pointed at Beryl. "Beryl, destroy this defective unit and be quit about it!"

I can't stop walking.. No matter how tough and painful it is.. I need my memories and I need to know who I am...

Beryl struggled to land herself back on her feet but once she did she sprinted quickly towards me with her scythe pointed straight at us. Frustrated, I turned around and was ready to strike her once more despite barely being able to move.

Beryl and I cried out as our weapons slammed against each other but just as I was getting the upper hand, a voice cried out towards us.

_"The Resistance is here!" _

We all stopped our attacks and Beryl fell onto the ground in exhaustion. We looked up front only to see a few familiar faces from earlier with some new faces joined along.

"Yes!" Claudine cheered. "The cavalry is here!"

"We can save the hugs and kisses for later," Said one of the new faces, which oddly enough was a bear, replied. "For now we've gotta get you out of here!"

Claudine nodded and grabbed a hold of Roo-D and took my head. I looked to her to ask what she was doing but the bear suddenly released a huge misty explosion and Claudine led us outside when we were suddenly transported to a place I had never seen before.

My eyes widened in shock as I looked to where we were transported and I couldn't believe my eyes. For the first time I was standing in a room that wasn't owned by Gelimer.

"W-What is this place?" I stuttered. The configurations damaged my system so it was challenging to identify where I was but using some of my strength, I was able to find the name of the location where I stood: The Resistance Headquarters.

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**AUTHORS NOTE**

**Thanks for all your favorites and comments so far :) I hope you continue to do so!**


	4. Beyond the Barrier

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters unless stated otherwise. All copyrights go to Nexon/Respected owners. Thank you :)_

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**CHAPTER 3: BEYOND THE BARRIER**

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**"W-What is this place?" I stuttered. The configurations damaged my system so it was challenging to identify where I was but using some of my strength, I was able to find the name of the location where I stood: The Resistance Headquarters.**

A gun was suddenly pointed towards my head. I gulped nervously while thousands of thoughts flew into my head. Is Gelimer going to come and get me? Will he kill me or turn me into a mindless killing machine? And what about these people who took me with them? What is going to happen to them?

Claudine's hand was placed on top of the gun and she slowly brought it down. "Don't.. I don't think she's an enemy."

"Are you spouting nonsense here Clau'?" Brighton snapped. "That thing came from enemy base. It could turn on us and kill us at any moment."

"Yes she has the ability to do that but instead.. She helped me escape." Claudine said. Why do I feel so warm around these people? I don't know who they are and the more I stand next to them the more dizzy I feel but even so.. I can feel a warm feeling in my heart. A heart I've been told to throw away years ago.

"Well now that she's here with us what are you going to do?" Belle asked.

I could feel the pressure as all eyes continued to land on me. All my life I've been taught to eliminate all those who defy Gelimer. At a moment like this... That is what I should be doing. So what.. What is it, holding me back?

_ Is it the fact that they're outnumbering me?_

No.. That's not it. I don't feel fear towards them.

Claudine looked at me and I shakily looked back at her.

"You want your memories back, right?" She suddenly asked. Before I could answer she looked down at Roo-D. "And you want to help?"

Roo-D wagged his robotic tail and nodded. "Y-Yes! No matter what Xenon's choices are, I will be right there beside her!"

_"Roo-D.." _

_As long as I can remember, Roo-D has always been by my side. Despite being programmed and created as a robotic pet, Roo-D developed real emotions. Kind, gentle and protective ones. Gelimer calls it a glitch or a mistake, but that's impossible. Roo-D has been the only one who ever really treated me like a human instead of a robot. Someone with feelings instead of a mindless piece of destruction._

"Okay then," Claudine continued. "Now.. Xenon was it?" She asked, raising her eyebrow.

I nodded, not knowing what else to say. I'll just go with it.. Yeah, I'll be okay-

"I want you to come with me. I need to show you something, _outside_."

My eyes widened. Outside?

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_"The outside world is a dangerous place and if you were to go there, everyone would hate you. They'd think that you are a weapon, a piece of destruction. But they are right."_

_"Yes Gelimer."_

_ That is exactly what I programmed to be, Xenon."_

_"Of course, Gelimer."_

_"Only from my orders are you allowed to go outside. If you disobey me.. I will kill you. Because it is that easy to take apart a weapon just as it is easy to make one."_

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_No.. No! _

_M_y instincts quickly took over. I found myself leaping in mid air and aiming my gun at all the targets. Their eyes all widened with shock and fear. Once I had realized that, I quickly disarmed myself and I fell back onto the ground. "I-I.." I was about to harm them. I was about to break the trust that was still only beginning to form ever so slowly. I am a tool.. Nothing.. But.. A.. Tool-

Before any one of them could take me away or attack me, Roo-D quickly stepped forward. "Please don't hurt Xenon any longer!" Roo-D begged, hurt filled in his voice. "All her life she's been treated like nothing but a tool.. She lost her childhood because of those experiments. Now that she's escaped, all she wants is to find her lost memories. Even something as small as her name or a toy she used to play with would be great.."

Everyone around me slowly dropped their weapons, but still looked quite hesitant to me. I didn't blame them though. Just moments ago I tried to eliminate them. In Roo-D's eyes, I look like an innocent girl trying to find out who she is. But in their eyes, I'm a killing machine that could betray them at any moment.

Claudine stepped forward and took my hand, yanking me forward. There's that warm feeling again..

"C'mon Xenon. You too Roo-D." Claudine said, using a calm and gentle tone of her voice that I never expected her to have.

"Where are we going?" I asked as we walked up the long pathway of stairs. My eyes squinted as a bright light at the end of the hallway shined brightly before us.

"I want to show you a place I used to go to when I was a kid." Claudine answered. Does that mean she still thinks that I am her childhood friend? The one that went missing.. The one she misses with all her heart.. The owner of that tiny dagger.

I don't know if her predictions are correct. But even if I am that old friend of hers.. Is there even any guarantee I'll be any good of a friend now? Over a decade has passed, I believe.

_ "You can throw away the thoughts of me taking you to a harmful place."_

"Claudine I-"

"I would never do such a thing. Especially not to someone who might just be the friend I've been looking for."

_No Claudine... I never had thoughts like that in the first place._

_My only fear is that Gelimer's voice might take control over me again and that..._

_I might harm someone as innocent as you._

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**I'm sorry for not updating for so long! School has made me really busy lately and I can never find the time to write!**


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